Of producing same



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED SCHWARZ, OF JOPLIN, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR 'I'O METALS RECOVERY ,COM;

l ANY, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

COMPOSITION AND SUBSTANCE FOR USE IN CONCENTRATION OF OBES AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME.

Specification of Le'tters Patent. Yatnted 29, 19

Ne Drawing. Application filed' March 6, 1917, Serial No. 152,586. Renewed June 1, 1922. SerIaI No.

clear, and exaetdescriptionof the invention,

such aswill enable "others skilled in the art to which itapp'ertains to make and use the same.

1 This invention relates to compositions or substances or agents adapted for use in the concentration-of ores and to the method of producing such compositions and the like.

In my'companion application Serial No. 152,585 filed March 6,1917, I have described and claimed a process of concentrating ores and the like by the use of such compositions and substances and agents as those referred to. The present invention relates more particularly to such compositions and substances themselves and to the method of their production.

Heretofore various methods of concentrating ores have beenproposed for the re moval or separation of mineral constituents therefrom by the'use of selective agents, such as oils, oily substances, resinous substances, various mixtures'of oils, and the like. The oils or other substances used have generally been those whichare availablecommercially in-suflicient amounts' and at a sufiiciently low cost; and they have'ben largely products from distillation processes or by-products of other industrial processes.

In the practice of flotation processes heretofore carried on, it has been customary to use flotation agents in the form in which they are commercially available and to compound those agents in various proportions in an endeavor to producea COIIlPOSltB product which will give satisfactoryresults with the particular ore to be treated. Such procedures involve the use of all the constituents of the oily or other substances, including both the soluble and extractable, as well as the insoluble or immiscible constituents. Where the selective agents have contained considerable amounts of insoluble or immiscible constituents it has been the practice, as

substances, such as many of the common oils,

or as soluble substances or frothin'gvagents. I -I have found, however, as the result of careful experimentation, that the so-called insoluble or immiscible oils are nevertheless under the conditions of their present use,

soluble to a 'certain extent, or contain soluble 'constituents, and that'it is largely/to such soluble constituents that the concentrating action is due. Moreover, thesocalled soluble frothing agents which are available commercially, nevertheless-contain insoluble or immiscible constituents. Where such insoluble or immiscible constituents are present in association with the soluble or extractable constituents, the action of the soluble or extractable constituentsis masked or inhibited. Not only isit usually necessary to break up the oily substance to an extent suflicient to disclose and set free the soluble constituents, but the insoluble or immiscible constituents themselves may even b injurious to the flotation process.

According to the present invention, these uncertainties and disadvantages are largely overcome orsminimized. .1 have found that by 'subjectinglva'rious selective agents, in-

stance, products of distillation such-as thermore, selective agents solid at normal tempe ature, may be at a n nd. used .in ore'concentiating methods with cold water, andin-u- 0.11min which-they 'arezifreed fnom injurious impurities. r

It is accordingly an object of my invention to produce from =normally 'solid' substances;:(rosin, tar, etc.), asu.well-as from liquid. substances (oils, '-etc.'-):,- substances suited for: use forzore concentrationat. endinary'temperatures}x212 -5;.1; i i "I am awam that it hasbeen proposed -.to utilize for flotation purposes; contain; chemical substanoeswhich are stated ti-be-ecom :p'letely soluble,- :but so is! asid -am as'vare, dot-suck .p recesses am lcommercially: teas ible liecau'seio'f the prohibitive cost 'e'fthe iso- .latedhohemical individuals: xvhieh 'itziis'thns 25 I i ipnoposqd to use. so

The. commercial utilization" 'ofthe so- 4 called--sol-uble? selective agent's: alias :ir'w'olved theaccompanyin us'ef'of heixi insoluble constituents, the ac 'onwthiiszpartalting of the ao tion' of these-called insoluble oils 'w hlch nevertheless alsowdontain soluble constituents. WV um il- 1x -="Acoordin'g tothe.present invention, the selective agentsdforue'immple' rosin. pi'netar pine 011'; coal tar. and its distillates; etc.) are subjected to=-aidisintegration and extraction in waterorlihe-aqueous li'q'uon; so that there are separated the soluble or extractable consituents from thiinsolubleoor' immiscible constituents; This .disintegiiation and extraction may be eflec'ted byf'airitating with cold or hotwater, or=by b0ilingi with \ivater, or" with dilute Ialkaline on acid liquors; Again the selectivealg'ontss for-'ex- -ainple rosin, or certain pine oil orpine-tar or coal tin-products, may be subjectedto'an extraction with alkalivliquors'and the "extracted constituents subsequently treated with acids to remove constituents therefrom which are insoluble indiluteaidsl -Va-riousmethods of extraction can be'used for disintegmting the selective agentsand sepamting the extractable' if r'om'the nonsentractable constituents-. So "sloop" aswhere dilute 'alkalies ane'us'ed. :there may-be extracted first'all constituents soluble in-the diluteallcali'es and the remaining insoluble constituents separated rafter -whichthere is effected a further sepanation from the alkali solution all those constituents which are in soluble in 'a'cidsMWhere the solutions obtallied contain constituents injurious to the concentration operation,- they may be purilied or treated inorder to remove such injurious constituents therefrom.

The selective agents which are available for treatment according to the present in vcntion to produce the new compositions or substances. include most, and I believe all, of the selective agents and the like which are commonly used in flotation methods of conccntration. These will, however, vary considerably in their value and in thean' ount of extractable constituents which they yield. 'IVhere, however, there remain considerable amounts of insoluble constituents, and Where a part only, and often a small part, of the insoluble constituents are desired. for use in the concentration of ones, along; with the extracted constituents, the remainder'of the insoluble constituents may be diverted to other purposes, thus reducing materially thecost of the concentration process. Inasmuch as but relative]; smalls-mounts of the novel compositions or substances are usually necessary forthe concentration ofores,

evenas compared-pwiththe amounts of oils commonly used, it will be evident that in many cases,"there.-willbe produced a very considerable amount of material rejected from this particular process and available for other purposes, this material being .of relatively little on no value or a detriment for use in the concentration of ones.

It'may be advantageous in some cases, to completely dissolve .theesubstanc'e' treated, when soluble, as in dilute alkalies,-and to re-precipitate the dissolved constituents in- 'soluble in Water on in dilute acids, as by adding acids, in order that the soluble constituents distributed throughout the original mass-may be set free and' rendered available. I

The various substances treated, after ext-racti'ongarc, adapted for use for other pur poses.'iv here they-arc not required fo -ore concentratingpurposes. c. 55.. foruse in water-proofing compositions, and in such case they may even'be of enhanced value because of the removal therefrom of the soluble or extractable constituents, since for many purposes the solubleor extractable constituents are undesirable and even detrimentaL Instead of extracting the selective agents themselves, certain: raw materials and sources thereof may be directly extracted, mob as or aftersuch portions as are desired to extract, have been extracted, the' mass is filtered "or otherwise treated to separate the original constituents. The,v soluble con stituents arej a'vailaible for use directly in the concentration of ores or theyfmayjbe re-combined with predetermined amounts of the insoluble constituent s. So also the ex tractedv constituents may 'be concentrated as by evaporation "to-produce a more concentratedl solutio'ni or Leven solids. Again any of the extracted components. of one materialm'ay be compounded with any number 'of extracted componentsv of anothelf mate' rialQ Where the extraction; of rosin is can ried out s'ofithat'the ex afl fid portions con; tain constituentsfprecipated with "acid .01

'alkalie's such substances may be precipitated and the resulting solutionsused ithegal ne or .with the addition of the precipitated snb stances ;in predeter ined l arn'ouiit. The

a iedr ei' mp e kper m t' 9E1? mentsiivith .the parfticular ore" pulp i ion. L L l 1; As. anothr instanc rosin may e. -'ectedf 'to a I solutioniof; one percent sodium ydr oxide until the. soluble portions have beentaken into solution. 'I he may, if ed, e. t e h ub tei es' f wt es wi h. anni ci h h$t tne! which may be desirablefto r mov .',$e para'- tion of the solution is thereafter efi'e'cted by decantation, filtration oiyothermean's' and the solution is then treated with a small amount of a suitable acid which may be sufficient to neutralize all or part of the alkali or even to make the solution acid with an excess of acid. Any precipitate thus formed may or may not be thus separated. By separating the precipitate, the solution can be used by itself or it can be used with predetermined amounts of the precip tate or of other constituents.

The invention will be further illustrated by the following instance of its application:

Forty parts by weight of common pine rosin are boiled with two thousand parts of water containing forty parts of caustic soda dissolved therein. Forty parts of litharge or its equivalent in lead acetate are added after the rosin is in solution and the mixture is maintained hot for about two hours. The solution is then filtered off. preferably hot. and any desired portion of the solution is then subjected to treatment with sulfuric acid. Assumming that thirty parts of the mixture is to be used with five hundred parts by weight of ore (greater or less proportions, however, are effective) the thirty parts of the liquor are acidified with three parts of ten percent sulfuric acid solution which causes the precipitation of some of the rosin constituents previously in solution, the pre cipitate is filtered off and the filtrate is then added to the five hundred parts of ore 'which is fiist mixed with two thousand parts'cf water and the mixture is subjected to a flotationoperationof concentration.

It will be evident that various methods of concentration can'be carried out with the eompositions and agents of, the present invention'iand in referring. to apa'rticular ex ample ofhow suchagents'may be used; I do somerelyby' way o fillu'strationi' The ql npositions produced according to the present invention may be supplied in various ways ifor use-"in such ore concentrating pro classes. "They. may thus be supplied in the farm various concentrations containing predetermined "amou s of the components; pia iyi fi nbead b sinalm' e l a f tl irprodiict'ionf agents'fm ay be nr xsi heffo. fa '.efj.t,..b rf e' S -b fii1 it li i dhyrt e ser.a -n ne, at it h t r' 1 1i: a t m at e Pfulpi- '5 dir ptltete iri ffth as v. qui e-j sneaker .xcjne ,q-fsthe hes is iar..,.fi new h factua si stitl il sapa ed f f nse bl .c'ii sti nnwi saus g wyl t n 'Qf h the operator by'adding any of the va ifious scr d emiaments -l amzde tate t jlgfi mqn a ize l i i fi- $t su o he in flied dt t emanatin cen ses means ereouoian 'or fin ly divid d ,qangue it is usually desirable to' use"a"p,re'' dominating aniou nt of the soluble cempositions or'agents because ,of the tendency of the insoluble constituents to: adhere to such g'a'nguec'o'iistituents whereas with coarser ores or ores relatively free from colloidal and finely divided gangue, it is usually desirable to have predetermined amounts of the insoluble constituents present. e. g. to form a more coherent froth. The compositions and agents of the present invention can accordingly be supplied for the particular ore to be concentrated, the nature of the composition depending particularly, as to its presence or absence of insoluble oonstituents, upon the nature of the ore and particularly upon the presence or absence and amount of colloidal or finely divided gangue.

Instead of extracting from different raw materials the extractable constituents, and thereafter combining the same the raw materials may be combined before extraction and a composite extract thereby produced. The extraction in such cases may be efi'ected by agitation with hot or cold water or by other suitable means for separating or extracting the soluble constituents from those which are insoluble; and in this case also the composition or agent to be subsequently used may be formed of either the soluble constituents or a combination thereof with predetermined amounts of insoluble constituents. The raw materials to he treated may, as previously stated, he of either liquid or solid consistency and of vegetable, animal or mineral origin, provided that they contain extractable constituents of the nature indicated, I have found that rosin is of particular value as a raw material for the production of flotation agents. So also pine tar and pine oil are of value, as is also creosote. Crude oil is ofrelatively less value in that much larger amounts of it are required for the production of suflicient amounts of flotation agents as compared, for example, with rosin or pine oil, \Vhereas the use of the common ls an 1 mi es (s h a ar omm nly u d. in flotat vo v th use. of all the insoluble constituents carried by the oils, with the results that the insoluble constituents are. usua ly p e nt i mounts having no relation to the amount necessary or des rable, th Dm'el compositions of the present invention enabling the ore. to be connentrated either with the soluble or extracted constituen s lone, or. with such added amounts of insoluble constituents as may be predetermined for the particular ore nnder treatment.

In the foregoing description and in the accompanying claims, I use the term selective agents? as a generic term to include the Ygrious substances, such as oil, resins, tars nd. th li i 'Lcla r Llhe method of producing agents and compositions for use in the concentration of ores, w ich comprises disintegrating selecthe agents by extraction first with an aqueus alkal em ng any une r c ed'cn stit ent's rea ng: withan id and emo ng y parated sol d ns ituen s, and he eby nbtniningla s luti n enta n n s'n n l n n stituent's andTfre ed from oqnlstitue'nts i n- Soluble in, he alkali and. nl tee thnW h r nnnnnn nit cons i u ts? i l n ble s p rate y orji' mbinnt w th n hfiitheri 2. Th .n eth if-"pr? fi ng" time nd compositions for use in the concentration ores, when menses e trnht n";$ l t Y g nts.nent iningz'inn lnh nem e by g ta ion wi hfan kel 'n l n r, s ie itg th r ulting ewed 'cbns tu tcs fr m he ins luble. n sidnesl ntr lin ng. he ike? li s nt nn'. w th, h-ii l d. ther P pitet n con titu nt ;',.Lnen1 nlwii s p a ng the rel 'n 'ng ntinn .f tn'fih'fi pre pitate .nnsl th reby 9 .2mm nl 'blilfi re d mini tenement iinsq 5. i "the a k l and. .nb dfn l intin y asc rta dores, which compns e's'e trocting 'resihs' an alkaline liquor, separating .the unex tracted constituents from theresul'tiijg 'solu. n tine' h l tq n pn n thlnen dnnd ev s I ns" P fe ed s d nstit n e and thereby olgtamin ,a, solution containi'iig soluble, cfonstitxjerits together with separate inso ublewomiafohelits Jdif constituents" utiliz able separatelybr in' o'rnbinationwith each other. l

' In testimony whereof, I a'fiix my, signature.

FALFRED SCHWARZ. 

